Early Intervention Strategies for Success

Sharing What Works in Supporting Infants & Toddlers and the Families in Early Intervention

 

Imagine you are the parent who’s child is newly referred to early intervention (EI). Someone calls you and asks to come by your home. “Why,” you wonder, “do they want to come here?” Then, when the service coordinator arrives for the intake, she asks you personal questions about your child’s medical history and your family …

This will come as no surprise to you as an early interventionist…findings from a new study in the online journal JAMA Pediatrics suggest that electronic toys are not so good for toddler communication development. Shocked? I knew you wouldn’t be.
Electronic Toys & Play Interactions
I often found this to be a big challenge on intervention visits …

You’re back at work and facing a daunting task…making up all the visits missed on the previous two snow days. Three of your families live on small back roads that probably won’t see a plow for days. Two others love the snow so you can expect that they’ll want to you to come ready to …

Okay, I think I made that up: “reflecting forward.” It’s a bit of an oxymoron, but let me explain.

Reflection implies that we intentionally and mindfully think about our actions – either while in the moment (reflection in action) or afterwards (reflection on action). As we begin a fresh, wide open new year, now is a …

You walk into your last visit with Brayden’s family before the holidays. The visit goes well, and as you are wrapping up, Brayden’s mother hands you a wrapped gift and wishes you “Happy Holidays.” On the outside, you’re smiling and thanking her, but on the inside, you’re stumbling because your agency has a policy against …

Here’s a question for EI leadership: How do you know if your program is achieving positive outcomes for children and families? 

This question is an intricate one for local system managers and other leaders. The answer lies at the heart of what we do.
Child Outcomes – How Do You Know?
On the surface, you could say, sure we …

After earning a masters degree in education at the University of Kansas, I moved to North Carolina and accepted my first professional position as an Infant-Toddler Specialist providing home based services to infants and toddlers with identified developmental differences or those at risk for future delays.  This opportunity put me directly in the trenches with …

Okay, so after 5 years of blogging I’m finally doing the thankfulness blog post during the holiday week. I could resist no longer…no, really. This just seems like the perfect time to think about what we are grateful for with the work that we do.
Top 5 Reasons I’m Thankful for EI
Here are the top five things …

In your busy day, there’s often very little time to stop and really think about what you’re doing. Instead, you just “do” what needs to be done. In Virginia, and in many states, early interventionists (EIs) are working very hard to adopt coaching practices as a means of interacting with families. When you do stop …

I was driving down a narrow back road on my way to a visit when my car simply died. There was no where to pull off the road so, where I stopped was where I stayed. I wasn’t too far from the family’s home so I turned on my emergency flashers and started walking. When …

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